Somatic Complications of Alcoholism in the Surgical Patient (original) (raw)
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Identifying chronic heavy alcohol use in emergency general surgery patients: a pilot study
Trauma Surgery & Acute Care Open, 2017
background Chronic heavy alcohol (CHA) use has been associated with perioperative complications. Emergency general surgery (EGS) patients are not routinely screened for CHA. If screened, it is usually for hazardous use of alcohol, using a survey such as the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT). This study screened EGS patients for CHA use using serum carbohydrate-deficient transferrin (%dCDT) level, a biomarker that has been validated as an indicator for CHA use, as well as the AUDIT. The purpose of this study was to determine the percent of EGS patients with CHA (as indicated by elevated %dCDT), and the relationship between %dCDT and AUDIT. Secondary aims included comparing the characteristics of EGS patients with and without CHA use, and evaluating the association of CHA use with negative clinical outcomes. Methods EGS patients aged 21 and older admitted to the general surgery inpatient service of a tertiary hospital from July 2014 to June 2016 were invited to participate in this study. %dCDT levels above 1.7% were considered positive for CHA use, as were AUDIT scores ≥8. results 195 EGS patients were screened for inclusion and 91 (46.7%) agreed to participate. 14 (15.4%) were positive for hazardous alcohol use on AUDIT and 5 (5.5%) were positive for CHA by %dCDT. Positive predictive value of AUDIT for CHA was 21.4%. There was no correlation between positive scores on AUDIT and %dCDT. Discussion Identifying at risk patients early on in their hospital course may allow clinicians to institute treatments to mitigate and/or circumvent complications in such patients. This pilot study determined that 17.6% of participating EGS patients were positive for some type of alcohol misuse, but only 5.5% had CHA. Further research is needed to determine whether routine use of %dCDT would be beneficial in reducing perioperative complications in this patient population. Level of evidence III (diagnostic test).
The Open Surgery Journal, 2009
We conducted a standardized review of research on the prevalence of alcohol use or misuse (including alcohol use disorders), and the association of alcohol use or misuse with post-operative surgical complications among US patients. Twenty seven studies that included a preoperative measure of alcohol use or misuse and included at least 50 US surgical patients were identified using a standardized search strategy (1950( -April 2007. Twenty-two of the studies reported prevalence of alcohol use or misuse, which was highest in major otolaryngology surgeries (mostly for cancer and injuries: 22-88.5%) and thoracic surgery (lung transplant and cancer resections: 29-33%) and ranged from 8-28% in the remaining studies. Nineteen studies examined the association between pre-operative alcohol consumption and post-operative complications suggesting positive associations between alcohol use or misuse and risk for post-operative delirium, pneumonia, cognitive decline, overall complications, and death. Most identified studies had methodological limitations, especially the widespread use of drinking assessment methods that cannot distinguish alcohol use from misuse.
The problem of alcohol in the medical/surgical patient
General Hospital Psychiatry, 1986
The authors report the results of a computerized data-based study of 845 general hospital patients seen by a consultation-liaison psychiaty service in a major urban kospital. The findings indicate that only 5.2% of the referrals werefor the problem of alcohol. Furthermore, the detection rate of an alcohol problem by both the referring physicians and the psychiatric consultants was low (8.3%) as compared with the literature's reported prevalence rate of alcoholism in the general hospital (8.7%-550/o). The problem of recognition of an alcohol problem in the medicalisurgical patient is explored with particular emphasis on the obstacles to diagnosis-masking of alcoholism by other major psychiatric disease, the categorization of patients by symptom rather than underlying causation, and the lack of sufficient employment of useful diagnostic screening deoices. Alcoholism remains a major health problem throughout the United States. It affects at least 5%-10% of the adult population [l] and is frequently implicated in major causes of mortality and morbidity, e.g., accidents, homicides, suicides, cirrhosis, and assault. Studies of the prevalence of alcoholism on the medical and surgical wards of the general hospital have indicated that it ranges from 8.7% to 55%, the average being 23% [2]. As with other illnesses, early diagnosis and treatment of alcoholism results in increased probability for improvement [3]. Regardless of when detection occurred, a review of 265 studies evaluating outcome following psychologic intervention found that two
Perioperative Morbidity and Mortality in Chronic Alcoholic Patients
Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 2001
This article represents the proceedings of a symposium at the 2000 ISBRA Meeting in Yokohama, Japan. The chairs were Claudia Spies and Hanne Tønnesen. The presentations were (1) Relevance of alcohol misuse in surgical patients, by Hanne Tønnesen; (2) Diagnosis of alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence, by Sven Andreasson; (3) Diagnosis of acute alcohol misuse, by Anders Helander; (4) Preoperative intervention for excessive alcohol consumption, by Kate Conigrave; and (5) Prevention and treatment of perioperative complications in chronic alcoholics, by Claudia Spies.
Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 2012
The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) has developed a two-question tool for the detection of unhealthy drinking (NIAAA-2Q) that investigates excessive alcohol consumption per single occasion. NIAAA-2Q can be commuted into a four-question tool (NIAAA-4Q) by the addition of two questions aimed at investigating excessive weekly alcohol intake. NIAAA-2Q and NIAAA-4Q may prove useful in busy settings such as an anesthesiological environment. However, to date, no study has evaluated their effi cacy in a surgical setting. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of NIAAA-2Q and NIAAA-4Q in detecting unhealthy drinking among surgical patients using the more complex Alcohol Use Disorders Identifi cation Test (AUDIT) comprising 10 questions as the criterion method. Method: NIAAA-4Q and AUDIT were administered to 200 surgical patients by three anesthetists. Results: A total of 23.5%, 12.5%, and 28.5% surgical patients were unhealthy drinkers according to AUDIT, NIAAA-2Q, and NIAAA-4Q, respectively. NIAAA-2Q negative and positive predictive values were 0.78 and 0.36, respectively, and positive and negative likelihood ratios were 1.80 and 0.90, respectively. NIAAA-4Q negative and positive predictive values were 0.93 and 0.65, respectively, and positive and negative likelihood ratios were 6.00 and 0.24, respectively. Conclusions: NIAAA-4Q demonstrated a better satisfactory agreement than NIAAA-2Q with AUDIT in detecting unhealthy alcohol drinking among surgical patients. These results suggest that the detection of unhealthy alcohol drinking may be increased by the administration of questions aimed at assessing the weekly average of alcohol intake. The modest time required for NIAAA-4Q administration is a major advantage in clinical practice with respect to AUDIT. Further research will compare NIAAA-2Q and NIAAA-4Q with other brief alcohol screening tests.
Preoperative alcohol cessation prior to elective surgery
Cochrane database of systematic reviews (Online)
Hazardous drinking has been associated with an increased postoperative complication rate after surgery. Common complications include postoperative infections, cardiopulmonary complications, and bleeding episodes. Preoperative abstinence may to some degree reverse alcohol-induced pathophysiological processes and thus prevent postoperative complications. To assess the effect of preoperative alcohol cessation interventions on the rate of postoperative complications including mortality in hazardous drinkers. To assess the effect of preoperative alcohol cessation interventions for hazardous drinkers on alcohol use in the postoperative period and in the long term. We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (The Cochrane Library 2011, Issue 9); Ovid MEDLINE (1966 to September 2011); Ovid EMBASE (1966 to September 2011); CINAHL via EBSCOhost (1982 to September 2011). We combined the MEDLINE search strategy with the Cochrane highly sensitive search strategy, as ...
Drug and Alcohol …, 2007
Pre-operative intervention for excessive alcohol consumption among patients scheduled for elective surgery has been shown to reduce complications of surgery. However, successful intervention depends upon an effective and practical screening procedure. This study examines current screening practices for excessive alcohol consumption amongst patients scheduled for elective surgery in general hospitals. It also examines the appropriateness of potential sites and staff for pre-operative screening. Forms used routinely to assess alcohol consumption in the pre-admission clinics (PAC) of eight Sydney hospitals were examined. In addition, the appropriateness of six staff categories (surgeons, surgeons' secretaries, junior medical officer, anaesthetists, nurses and a research assistant) and of two sites (surgeons' office and PAC) in conducting additional screening was assessed at two hospitals. Outcomes included observed advantages and disadvantages of sites and personnel, and number of cases with excessive drinking identified. There was duplication in information collected routinely on alcohol use in the PACs in eight Sydney Hospitals. Questions on alcohol consumption in patient self-completion forms were not validated. The PAC provided for efficient screening but time to surgery was typically too short for successful intervention in many cases. A validated tool and efficient screening procedure is required to detect excessive drinking before elective surgery. Patients often present to the PAC too close to the time of surgery for any change in drinking to reverse alcohol's effects. The role of the referring general practitioner and of printed advice from the surgeon in preparing patients for surgery needs further investigation. [Shourie S, Conigrave KM, Proude EM, Ward JE, Wutzke SE, Haber PS. Pre-operative screening for excessive alcohol consumption among patients scheduled for elective surgery.
Perioperative alcohol cessation intervention for postoperative complications
Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2018
Background Risky consumption of alcohol is a global problem. More than 3.3 million deaths annually are associated with risky use of alcohol, and global alcohol consumption continues to increase. People who have high alcohol consumption often require planned and emergency surgical procedures. Risky drinking is associated with increased postoperative complications such as infections, cardiopulmonary complications, and bleeding episodes. Alcohol causes disorders of the liver, pancreas, and nervous system. Stopping consumption of alcohol can normalize these organ systems to some degree and may reduce the occurrence of complications after surgery. This review was first published in 2012 and was updated in 2018. Objectives To assess the effects of perioperative alcohol cessation interventions on rates of postoperative complications and alcohol consumption.